Standard Bank South Africa has committed to support the Watch Play Learn Pilot Project, an initiative of Sesame Workshop South Africa aimed at addressing the escalating Early Childhood Development (ECD) crisis in South Africa.
The pilot, approved by the Free State Provincial Department of Education, is being implemented in partnership with the Department, which played a key role in the selection of participating ECD centres and overall rollout. The collaboration comes at a critical time. According to the 2024 Thrive by Five Index, 58% of children aged four to five are falling behind, and the majority of children enrolled in early learning programmes are not yet on track in key areas of early learning by the age of four. The visionary partnership aims to help more than 22 000 South African children aged four to six get ready for school using an innovative, research-backed Facilitated Educational Media (FEM) model.
“Investing in the future of South Africa is critical. When we see that only 42% of four-to-five-year-olds in South Africa who are attending early learning programmes are on track and thriving by the time they start formal schooling, it is clear that early education needs urgent support. This is an initiative we are proud to invest in,” says Zanele Tshabalala, CSI Manager at Standard Bank South Africa.
According to Dr Onyinye Nwaneri, Managing Director of Sesame Workshop International South Africa, the funding has enabled the pilot’s launch in the Qwa Qwa and Thaba Nchu districts of the Free State.
“This generous funding has enabled us to kickstart this critical pilot focussing on over 2000 of the most marginalized and underserved children in the country. The partnership enables the classroom-based pillar of the project, where since June 2025, 36 Early Childhood Development centres and 86 teachers and practitioners have formed part of the pilot,” explains Dr Nwaneri.
The Watch Play Learn Pilot Project aims to enhance school readiness and developmental outcomes as well as promote inclusive early childhood development by testing the impact of structured educational media interventions in the participating centres. The programme is focused on improving foundational learning, teacher capacity-building, and quality education, placing focus on four content areas; Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL), Numeracy, Playful Problem Solving (PPS) and Literacy.
The first six-month phase will conclude in December 2025 and expects to reach over 2300 children with ECD classroom-based intervention guided by ECD teachers. A total of 160 high-quality Samsung A9 tablets and child-friendly rubber covers were procured, set up and distributed to the schools during their onboarding and training sessions in Qwa Qwa and Thaba Nchu, ensuring that children from most vulnerable environments are supported to navigate a tech-enabled world during this early stage of their schooling career.
“Success in school starts in the early years of life, “90% of a child’s brain develops within the first five years of life, if we do not address early gaps or challenges faced in this crucial developmental period, the consequences can be lifelong,” highlights Dr Nwaneri. Facilitated Education Media is an innovative approach designed by Sesame Workshop to enhance early childhood education using curated educational media content and has been proven to have a significant impact on children’s early learning outcomes in various countries. “FEM” means that pre-school children’s foundational skills, and their school readiness improves, when they can watch a structured or curated set of educational media content, facilitated by an adult at home, or at school.
The approach leverages the power of play, mass media and the deep affinity to the Takalani Sesame brand to help build the agency of parents and ECD teachers as the most important adults in a young child’s learning journey. Tshabalala adds, “We are deeply aligned to the project’s objectives of improving school readiness, enhancing teaching quality and capacity in ECD centres, and increasing access to high-quality learning resources. The protentional impact of the programme has results that will be far-reaching for the youth of South Africa.”
“We have already seen significant strides made in the project. We are excited by the potential this holds to meaningfully contribute to building foundational and perceptual skills in young children and help to better prepare them for Grade 1 and the world at large,” concludes Dr Nwaneri.
About Sesame Workshop International South Africa
Sesame Workshop International South Africa is the impact nonprofit whose mission is to help children everywhere to be stronger, smarter, and kinder. For over 25 years, we have worked at the intersection of education, media, and research, creating joyful experiences that enrich minds and expand hearts, all in the service of empowering each generation to build a better world.
Our beloved characters, iconic shows, direct services, and outreach in communities bring playful early learning to children in the context of all the ecosystem partners (families, parents, ECD Centers, educational institutions etc.) that enable them to be the best they can be. Takalani Sesame, the South African adaptation of Sesame Street launched in 2000 and has impacted millions of young lives to date.
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